Mechanical movement



M. L. BARBEAU AND F. S. WEBER.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT. AFPLICA'HON men AUG. 6. 191a.

Patented June 20, 1922.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M. L. BARBEAU AND F..S. WEBER.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1918.

J. i S n. mm a w n y W W D 0 6% M/ OMO M. L. BARBEAU AND' F.. s. WEBER.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

AFPucmou FILED AUG, 6, 191a.

e S m H h d 3 e x m E Q m N E P nears MALCOLM L. BARBEAU AND FREDERICKS. WEBER, OF SILVER CREEK, NEW YORK,

ASSIGNORS TO THE S. HOWES CO. INC., OF SILVER CREEK, NEW YORK, ACORPORA- TION OF YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

MEonAmdhL MOVEMENT.

Patented June 120, 1922.

'1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MALCOLM L. BAR- BEAU and FREDERICK S. /VEBER,citizens of the United States, residing in Silver Creek, in the countyof Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Mechanical Movements, of which the following is aSpecification.

This invention relates to a mechanical movement in which provision ismade for adjusting the stroke or throw of an eccentric which actuatesanother movable element. Although this mechanism may be used for a largevariety of purposes in which an eccentric movement is employed the samehas been designed more particularly for operating the sieves or screensof separating or cleaning machines, and in the following descriptionreference will be made more particularly to such an organization forillustrating one of the various uses to which this improved mechanicalmovement may be put.

In separating, classifying or grading ce reals, grains, seeds and othermatter of a granular or pulverized nature, ithas been customary inbuilding machines for this work to provide one or'more sieveswhich wereinclined more or less and receive 'a reciprocating motion. The length'ofthis reciprocation was governed by the character of the materialintended to be treated in the machine inasmuch as an efiicient separation of the particular kind of material necessitated a specific throw orlength of stroke in the reciprocating motion imparted to the sieves.Those grains or seeds which have a rough outer coating or adhering husk,as

I well as those which are of irregular shape,

like cracked corn, travel downwardly over an inclined sieve at acomparatively slow rate. Therefore to secure greater capacity in themachine, and more perfect or closer separation, it is necessary toimpart a more violent motion to the sieve which is accomplished byemploying an eccentric the throw or strokeofwhich is comparatively long.On the other hand, there are certain cereals,

grains and seeds, such for-instance as beans,

field peas, lentils, vetch,-mustard, hemp, rape and turnip seeds whichare more or less round in shape and whose outside covering or shell issmooth, glassy or polished. The last 'mentioned seeds or materialsrequire only a small eccentric movement-whichwill produce acomparatively short stroke of the separating sieves for treating thematerials passing over the same. 7

In actual practice, manufacturers of machines for cleaning grain, seedsand the like have been obliged to construct and furnish to the trade,machines in which the travel of the eccentric was adapted for treating,par-

tic-ular grains, seeds and other material which necessitated-keeping onhand eccentric operating devices having different throws and alsorequired the mill to install an unnecessarily large number of machinesin which the eccentric motion varied to suit the different materialswhich were to be treated, and this necessarily involved considerableexpense as well as taking up unnecessary room. The necessity forproviding some means for standardizing the eccentric operating mechanismand render the same 7 adjustable so that the throw of the same might bevaried to suit different requirements, willbe apparent when it isunderstood'that in grading broken rice grains, in separating paddyfrom'rice, in extracting oats from greats, in cleaning flax for takinggarlic out of wheat, a reciproeating movement is imparted to the sieveswhich at times is aS mu'ch as] nine inches in length. When, separating,or grading round, smooth seeds, chilled shot'and similar substances, acomparatively small eccentric travel'will suflice forreciprocating thesieves and obtaining an efficient separation, it being sufficient insome instances when the throw of theeccentric' is as small as a quarterof an inch and imparts a corresponding length of throw to the sieve.

To meet'these' different requirements, mill owners have heretofore beenobliged to install extensive batteries of cleaning and separatingmachines'at considerable expense, so that some of themachines could beemployed for handling wheat,'others beans, some for certain kinds ofvegetable seeds and still others for certain varieties of grass seeds,and so on. In this connection it shouldbe understood that the linesv areso closely' drawn by seed men that a separator designed for cleaningclover seed would not be used for handling blue grass seed because it isunsuitable for that purpose, and one-which would successfullycleantimothy seed is al seed;

It will therefore be apparent from the foregoing that the proposition ofcleaning and separating grain, seeds and the like, which are differentin character require clifferent throws of the eccentric operatingmechanism in order to properly treat these materials, inasmuch as eachkind or variety of materials must be handled according to its individualcharacteristics. Even different batches of the same variety of seed ormaterial sometimes Vary in their nature, that is to say, some will bedry and others .will be damp, and therefore require different lengths inthe stroke of the shaking screen which operate on such materials.

It is also known that winter wheat moves more slowly than spring wheat,and this necessitates a longer stroke of the separating screen whenoperating upon winter wheat than when operating upon spring wheat, whichlatter is a smaller berry. It is also well known that if the milloperator were to employ his regular wheat cleaning machines for cleaningbarley that its capacity would be reduced about one half, and that if itwere attempted to clean oats or corn on a regular wheat cleaningmachine, that the output of the same would be about twothirds of thecapacity as compared with the normal output when running wheat.

It is the object of this invention to provide a mechanical movement inwhich provision is made for adjusting the throw or stroke of theeccentric from zero up to the maximum limit for which the particularmechanism is designed and'to so organize this mechanism that the samecan be quickly, accurately and easily adjusted both while the machine isrunning or while it is standing still; which is readilyapplicable foroperating'either asingle screen or similar part to be actuated or aplurality of screens ar ranged either side by side or one above theother, and moved alternately in opposite directions for avoidingunbalancing of the machine,'and which is capable of being produced atlow cost and of standard dimen- 'sions so that the same mechanism isapplicable to various machines intended for a large variety of purposes.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved mechanicalmovementorganized more particularly for reciprocating separating screensorshoes; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same, partly in section.-Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section, on an 'enlargedscale, takenon line 33, Fig. 2, but

showing the parts in slightly different position. Figure 4 is afragmentary, longitudinal section taken on-line 44, Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the.several views.

Although this mechanical movement is applicable to a large variety ofmachines, in

which a reciprocating, oscillating or shaking part is to be actuated,the same is illustrated main frame so as to extend crosswise of the 2direction of movementof the screen, this shaft being operated either bya belt passing around a pulley 6 on one end thereof, shown in Figs. 1and 2, or by any other suitable means.

Mounted on this shaft are two eccentric operating mechanisms which areidentical in construction, and each being designed to operate one of thescreens, so that the following description of one will therefore applyto both of these eccentric mechanisms:

7 represents a guide or driving block arranged on the driving shaft andeither secured thereto as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, or formed integrallytherewith. This guide block is preferably, though not necessarily,square in cross section and provided on opposite sides of the axis ofthe shaft with two guide faces 8, 8 which are arranged parallel with aradial line of the shaft and also with two stop faces 9, 10 arranged onopposite sides of the axis of the shaft at'right angles to said guidefaces. 11 represents an eccentric disk which is provided in itsperiphery with'an annular groove 12 while its central part is providedwith a diametrical slot forming two guide faces 13, 13 which arearranged on opposite sides of the axis of this disk and parallel with aradial line of the same, and two stop faces 14,15 arranged at rightangles to the guide faces 13 and on opposite sides of the axis of thisdisk. The guide faces of the eccentric disk engagewiththe guide facesofthe guide block 7 and the stop faces of the disk are adapted to engagewith the stop faces of this block upon sliding the disk radiallyrelatively to the shaft. Upon sliding the disk inwardly relatively tothe shaft, so that its inner stop face 14 engages with the'stop face 9of the guide block, then the axis of the eccentric disk is coincidentwith that of'the driving shaft and causes the periphery of the disk tobe arranged concentrically with reference to the driving shaft. Uponmoving the eccentric disk outwardly relatively obtained when the diskhas been moved outwardly 'on the guide block until the outer stop face15 of the disk engages with the adjacent stop face 10 of the guideblock, as shown in Fig. 3. It is therefore possible by this constructionto vary the extent of eccentricity of the: disk by sliding the sameradially more or less on the guide block within the limits of the slottherein, and thereby permit of adjusting the throw or stroke of themembers which is to be actuated by the rotary movement of the eccentricdisk. The transmission of the effective movement of the eccentric diskis preferably accomplished by means of a circular strap 16 whichembraces the periphery of the cocentric and engages in the annulargroove 12 thereof, and a connecting rod 17 which is connected at one endwith this eccentric strap and pivotally connected at its opposite end bya pin 18 with the respective shaking shoe or screen which is operated bythis eccentric.

Various means may be provided for moving the eccentric disk radiallywith reference to the shaft, those shown in the drawings being suitableand preferred and as there shown the same are constructed as follows:119 represents a shifting member which preferably is constructed in theform of a circular head which is mounted on the shaft adjacent to theeccentric, so as to be compelled to turn with the shaft but capable ofsliding lengthwise thereon. This is preferably accomplished by means of.a' longitudinal spline 21 mounted on the shaft and engaging with akeyway in the bore of the shifting member, as shown in Fig. 4:. Thelongitudinal movement of the shifter head may be effected by variousmeans, for instance by means of a yoke provided with a shifting collaror ring 22 which engages an annular groove 20 in the'periphery of theshifter head so as to be compelled to move lengthwise therewith but isheld against turning with the same. This shifter head is operativelyconnected with the companion eccentric disk so that a longitudinalmovement of the shifter head produces a radial movement of the eccentricdisk relatively to the driving shaft. In the preferred form of the meanswhereby this is accomplished, a linkage is employed which comprises twolinks 23 arranged on opposite sides of the driving shaft and pivotallyconnected at one of their ends by means of a pin 24 with a lug }25 onthe shifter head on one side of the axis of the driving shaft while theopposite ends of these links are connected by means of a pin 26 with alug 27 arranged on the shifter head on the opposite sides of the drivingshaft, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and &. Upon moving the shifter head-towardthe eccentric disk, the links 23 will assume a position more nearly atright angles to the driving shaft and thereby cause the eccentric diskto be moved radially'outward to a greater or less extent relatively tothe driving shaft and increase the eccentricity of'the same accordingly,as well as the throw or stroke which the same imparts to the screen orshaking shoe with which the straps of this eccentric is operativelyconnected. Upon moving the'shifter head away from the eccentric disk,the links will be caused to assume a position morenearly parallel withthe axis of the driving shaftand thereby shift the eccentric diskinwardly so as to reduce its eccentric arrangement relatively to thedriving shaft and, consequently decrease the effectiveness of its throwon the screen or sieve which is actuated by this eccentric disk. i

In order to confine the eccentric disk against longitudinal movement onthe driving shaft while being operated upon by the shifter head, oneside of the eccentric disk, viz: that opposite to the shifter head, isengaged by a thrust collar or retaining ring 28 which is secured to theadjacent part of the driving shaft by means of a set screw 29 while thepressure of the links and associated parts against the opposite side ofthe eccentric disk operate to hold the same in place against the thrustcollar 28.

When two or more of these eccentric adjusting devices are mounted on thesame shaft, the same may be timed so as to either move in unison foroperating the same or different screens, or these eccentric devices may.be connected with difierent screens, so as to" move the same in oppositedirections and bal ancing the machine. In the example given in thedrawings, two eccentric devices are employed which are set one hundredeighty degrees apart so far as their operative effect is concerned, sothat the two shaking screens 2, 3 with which they are connected will bereciprocated alternately in opposite directions. V

In order to permit of simultaneously adjusting both" of these eccentricssothat the effect of the same upon the shaking screens 2, 3-, will beidentical and thus maintain a perfect balance of the machine, means areprovided for moving the shifting collars 19, f 19 of both eccentricdevices in unison for increasing the throw of the eccentric disks ordecreasing the same. In the preferred form of the means foraccomplishing this purpose a yoke is provided comprising a lo-ngitudinal bar 30 and two arms 31, 31 connecting opposite ends of this bar withthe two shifting collars 19, 19. One of these arms is provided with aninternally-screw threaded sleeve or nut 32 which receives an externallyscrew threaded portion 35 on a. shifting rod 3 1 and the other arm ofthis yoke is p-ro-- vided with a guide sleeve'33 whichreceives anotherportion of this rod. The latter is 130 arranged horizontally andparallel with the driving shaft and is journaled in bearings 36, 37which are carried by the adjacent part of the main frame. 'lhi s rod maybe turned, for instance, by means of a hand wheel 38 applied to one endthereof, and. the same is held against lengthwise movement by means i oftwo retaining collars 39, 40 secured thereto and engaging with oppositesides of the bearing 36. It follows from. this construction that uponturning the shifting rod the screw connection between the same and theyoke will cause the latter to be shifted lengthwiseof the driving shaftand adjust the eccentric disks accordingly while at the same time theyoke is guided lengthwise of the rod and shaft and is held againstturning. This adjustment of the eccentrics can be effected either whilethe machine in which the same are embodied is standing still or isrunning, thereby enabling the operator to adjust these eccentrics at alltimes easily and accurately adapt the throw of the eccentrics to suitthe particular needs of the material which is to be treated. I

This mechanism is very compact and durable in construction, and the sameis not liable to get out of order nor wear unduly. Furthermore thismechanism permits of putting standard machines of this character on themarket and enable the same to be used in the plant where it is installedfor separating or screening seeds, grains and other materialsof'different characteristics 7 by simply adjusting the eccentric deviceaccordingly, thereby reducing the cost of ma.- chining for thispurposeas well as saving the room ordinarily required for maintainingsuchfacilities. y

:We claim as our invention:

1. A mechanical movement for reciprocating two parts in oppositedirections comprising a rotary driving shaft, two eccentric strapsconnected respectively with said parts, two eccentrics which receivesaid straps and which have their centers on diametrically opposite sidesof said shaft, ra-

dial guides which are arranged on said shaft and upon which saideccentrics slide, and means for simultaneously adjusting said eccentricsradially relatively to said shaft comprising two shifting membersmovable lengthwise on said shaft but compelled to turn therewith, and apair of links connecting each shifting member with one of saideccentrics, the pivotal connections between one pair of said links andthe respective shifting member and eccentric being reverse of thecorresponding pivotal connections between the other pair of links andits shifting member and eccentric.

2. A mechanical movement for reciprocating two parts in oppositedirectionscomprising a rotary driving shaft, two eccentric strapsconnected respectively with said parts, two eccentrics which receivesaid straps and which have their centers on diametrically opposite sidesof said shaft, radial guides which are arranged on said shaft and uponwhich said eccentrics slide, and means for simultaneously adjusting saideccentrics radially relatively to said shaft comprising two shiftingmembers'movable lengthwise on said shaft but compelled to turntherewith, a pair of links connecting each shifting member with one ofsaid ec centrics, the pivotal connections between one pair of said linksand the respective shifting member and eccentric being reverse of thecorresponding pivotal connections be tween the other pair of links andits shifting member and eccentrics, a yoke connected with said shiftingmembers so as'to be movable therewith parallel with said shaft butincapable of turning therewith and provided with an internally threadedopening, and

an adjusting shaft arranged parallel with said driving shaft and capableof turning but held against longitudinal motion and having an externalscrew thread which engages with said internally threadedopening.

MALCOLM L. BARBEAU. FREDERICK S. WEBER.

